Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

Believe me guys there has been many a not so good turn out in my wine making journeys. I have done every price range kit on the market as well as fresh juice and in the early days grapes, you can have a excellent experience or a what the "h3ll" out come, it"s all in the learning curve, it's not always what you started with but what you could do with it and the fact that you made a effort to make it your own takes away some of the pain when you fail,HOWEVER,when the outcome is" NOT BAD" or "OH MY" with a then you know it was a journey worth the effort.

 

[jdwebb]

Joe, I have added the clarifying agent and will let it set a week before tasting. I did sneak a sip prior to racking and I didn't detect much of a mouthfeel, I know its early, but would it be ok to add an oak spiral for a few weeks at this point while it ages? I am looking forward to a nice table wine to enjoy with dinner.

 

[Mismost]

I have the Malbec soaking on some more oak, I think I shorted the tannins in the secondary. It's tastey.

Have a Font. Wild Berry Shraz sitting waiting to be fined...only used half the fpac and it is berry flavored....but the wife really likes it.

A not cheap Pinot Gris kit that I added apricots to is clearing nicely and has an amazing smell and taste, it is gonna be real good.

Second go around with a Mezza Luna Red kit is in the primary now....the first one was my first tweaked kit. More oak, less volume, upped the sugar and it came out very good as a very early drinker. A very pleasant red sipping wine.

Having lots of fun making lots of wine and learning lots of stuff. My thanks to Joe and all on this forum, you've all been a big help!

 

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

Jdwebb, if you want to add the oak and 1/2 tablespoon of tannins, the tannins are you enhancer and won't hurt the effort either. Did you start off with a 5 gallon batch?.

mismost..yes the experience either for the good or not so good is a journey and creative experience, don't you think?

 

[jdwebb]

Project:
Fontana Pinot Noir
Mixed to 5 1/2 gallons
1 pound mixed blackberries & raspberries crushed and added in fruit bag
1 cup American Oak chips
SG: 1.100
BM4x4 pitched on 2-23-16 and fermented at 70ºF
Racked at 1.000 on 3-4-16

Current Gravity now at 0.998
PH: 3.1
Clarifying agent added 4-2-16
Currently clear at 67º F

Somewhat tart, no mouthfeel at all, I think the blackberries and raspberries were a mistake. Perhaps only blackberries next time, raspberries are tart by nature. No hint of any oak ever hitting the batch.

Joe, how do I improve mouthfeel this late in the game? I was thinking of adding a 2oz oak spiral for a few weeks, maybe a month. I also realize this isn't a $20 bottle of wine, and time will help it improve. But I am still concerned about having no mouthfeel.

 

[Spikedlemon]

Argentia Ridge Merlot started.

1 cup of raspberry
1 cup of sugar
Handful of craisins
Making to full 6Gal volume
SG: 1.092

I know, Joe, you kept saying blackberries but I kept thinking raspberries.

It's a nice kit, even included oak chips.

 

[joeswine]

in the mix

The chance you might be taking is the volume could make the finish thin,other's that didn't had that problem, however if you add enough fruit to the mix and tannins your finish should balance out, and I do like Raspberry's in a shàraz, what do you think about these kits so far?

 

[Spikedlemon]

I hear you on the 'thin'. To that point, is why I added a little sugar, craisins and fruit to try to help that out. I felt it best to keep it closer to original (simple), as it's the first time making this kit and that I've not the wide experience with making wine as many people on this site.

Reviews on Costco.ca's site for that level of kit (7L concentrate) are all generally positive.

I was surprised that, by such an inexpensive kit, that it included Oak chips, corks, shrink caps, labels and three different clarifiers (Chitosan, Bentonite & Keiselsol) - though the last might be to get it ready and clear by week 4.

 

[joeswine]

In the mix

remember every wine maker has his or hers on taste to take it to account.
SpikeLemon: if you look at the profile of a merlot blackberries' are in the equation,they help add depth and a good over all flavor, wood in any format is in the make up of merlot, for me French oak 2 cups in the primary along with a heavy tablespoon of tannins continues building the structure, also tannins in the secondary, IMOP.....are you doing a 6gallon batch reduced to 5???

Jdwebb: yes raspberries add tartness to the mix they can work and work well if in balance, using EC1118 is the work horse I'm always talking about we don't need to get to exotic with these kits what we want is strong fermentation if your reducing the basic balance to a 5 gallon start...

 

[wineforfun]

@joeswine Bottling up the Fontana Malbec tonight. Been sitting with some extra heavy toast oak chips for the last week. Going to make sure and get a decent tasting amount tonight. Thanks for all the help.

Next up will probably be the Cornucopia Red Zin you did. Was this a sweet wine? That is what my wife likes. Did you like it? If so, what tweaks were done and did you make it into a 5 gal. kit?

 

[britwinemaker]

Hi Joe

I've been trying to read this entire thread (it's really quite a task now) so apologies if this has been asked and answered before. I have the following 3 Winexpert Vintners Reserve kits waiting to ferment: Merlot, Mezza Luna and Shiraz.

Any recommendations? Would a cup of raisins and a tablespoon of tannin in the primary help to add body?

Many thanks,

Adam

 

[joeswine]

In the mix

Hello Britwinemaker, good to hear from you. The vintner kits are quite fun to play with, most definitely add the oak to the primary ,with the vintner kits always do the required volume, use filtered water all the time, got it! MERLOT, should have good oak and a medium body ,adding tannins to the secondary 2 tablespoons, keep it simple what I have done is added zantes dried currents to the primary, you can also add them to the secondary,1 full cup.
SHIRAZ:FRUITY YET GOOD MOUTHFEEL,ADDING TANNINS TO THE SECONDARY IS THE WAY I WOULD GO.
MEZZA LUNA :KEEP IT SIMPLE DO THIS ONE WITH FRENCH OAK IF YOU CAN 2 CUPS IN THE PRIMARY,1 TABLESPOON IN THE SECONDARY OF WINE TANNINS.IF YOU ARE NEW TO THIS HOBBY THEN STAY WITH THE EC1118 THAT COMES WITH THE KITS THAT SHOULD BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR A GOOD EVERY DAY WINE.

 

[joeswine]

In the mix

yes IT WAS A SEMI SWEET WINE HERES SOME FACTS THSI IS FOR WINEFORFUN
**Update**
Hello Everyone!
We haven't posted the all-anticipated posts of this economically pleasing wine kit. So tonight is the night! For those who are catching the back end of this tutorial, this is a Blackberry-Zinfandel Kit from Vino Italiano. This kit’s average price is ~$45.00.
On 7/3/2014 we added the Blackberry F-pack, the clearing agent that came with the kit, the K-Met (Metabisulphate), Sorbate, stirred it up, and let it sit.
Tonight we checked-in on this wine and gave it our winemakers check-up.
Appearance: Nice dark purple color
Aroma: Berries, oak, and a slight tar smell (which is indicative of a drinkable dark, red wine)
Taste: Definitely taste the blackberry. It's right on the money. Has a light oak taste. This wine finishes sweet but not overly sickening, which is nice. The higher alcohol content (from adding the extra sugar/simple syrup in the beginning) really balances it out like we thought going into this kit.
Although this wine is definitely drinkable to the average wine drinker, I would let this one sit another month to really let the flavors come together. However, if I was invited last minute to a BBQ, this I wouldn't be ashamed of grabbing a few bottle of this to share.
This was a good purchase. It's a "filler" wine that I can share or drink while the other stuff I have is aging.
Oh, and for the count- we got 27 bottles (plus one that was not quite full- we drank that).
The total cost per bottle: $1.66. Can’t Beat that!

Cheers!
Joe

 

[jdwebb]

Jdwebb: yes raspberries add tartness to the mix they can work and work well if in balance, using EC1118 is the work horse I'm always talking about we don't need to get to exotic with these kits what we want is strong fermentation if your reducing the basic balance to a 5 gallon start...

I hear you Joe, next one I'll use the 1118. I would like to do another red, do you have any recommendations on a kit and tweaks for a beginner?

 

[Billpizzaiolo]

I bottled the Cab Sauv today. I used your recipe with Currants & extra sugar syrup. Resultant 14%ABV and a slightly sweet wine, clear and reddish in color. It has a nice mouth feel with a slight cherry, and grape taste. I will use it to make Sangria and give it to folks that like a sweeter wine taste. It is almost a desert wine.

 

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

Hi bill, which kit did you do and did you start with a 5 gallon mix? how much oak did you use and what was the PH at finish?

 

[Billpizzaiolo]

Malbec Continued

Joe,
I used this recipe but with their Cabernet Sauv product. I think if I were to do it again with the same product I would use less sugar syrup. And leave it in the Oak longer.
Bill

 

[Billpizzaiolo]

I bottled the Cab Sauv today. I used your recipe with Currants & extra sugar syrup. Resultant 14%ABV and a slightly sweet wine, clear and reddish in color. It has a nice mouth feel with a slight cherry, and grape taste. I will use it to make Sangria and give it to folks that like a sweeter wine taste. It is almost a desert wine.

PH at finish was between 3.2 & 3.6 hard to tell the color on the test strip. I used a tablespoon of Chestnut Tannins powder. Photo here of my wine log. The oak chips that came with kit. How do you rotate the photo?

 

[wineforfun]

Bottled the Fontana Malbec last Friday. I think this is going to be just fine. Ended up with 20 1/2 bottles in the end, after the rackings, etc. Drank the 1/2 bottle and was pleased.
Taste is decent, what I would compare to an $8 - $10 bottle of wine. Glad I put the extra oak in it for the last week and glad, with Joe's recommendation, made this into a 5 gal. kit. That definitely bumps up the body.

Now looking for something sweet for my wife. I can't find the Cornucopia on Amazon so thinking about the Fontana Reisling. It is supposed to be a sweeter dessert wine. Any thoughts @joeswine ?

 

[wineforfun]

@joeswine If doing a sweet Reisling kit, what would you add to it, ie: zest, raisins, etc. or just leave it alone. Looking at the Fontana Reisling.